Professor's Responsiblity
by Mana-Ryou
Summary: Professor Sycamore thinks about his new trainers and his responsibility for them. *Oneshot*


"Well it sounds like things are going great Tierno, make sure you give me another update soon," Augustine said.

"I will do Professor," the large round boy replied. "And next time, we'll have improved our dance routine even more!" The professor grinned as the boy flashed one of his moves once more.

"I look forward to seeing it, I'm sure you'll have an even better routine for me next time. Now, I'd best be off. Still have to finish this damn report," he muttered. Tierno grinned back.

"Right, good luck with that Professor and thanks." The black haired boy signed off, leaving Augustine to lean back in his chair and think about all the calls he had received today. Five of them; one from each kid he had sent off a couple of months ago with their first pokémon. Augustine always encouraged his new trainers to give him updates from time to time so he could hear about their adventures, give them advice and, if things weren't going so well, provide some emotional support. It was Augustine's opinion that when a professor gave a new trainer their first pokémon, that professor would be responsible for that trainer and became a mentor of sorts to them. Thus, the young professor took it quite seriously, liking to hear about achievements and wanting to support the trainers however he could. He was still in touch with many of the older trainers he had supported over the years he had been in the job and still received updates from them, though not as often as some others. In fact, Shauna called everyday just to chat excitedly with him whilst Augustine listened patiently to her stories, glad he was able to give her the means to make them.

* * *

Augustine knew some other professors thought it unusual to have such a high amount of contact with the new trainers, most being too busy with their research to constantly have kids calling them, but Augustine was invigorated by the youth's enthusiasm and wanted to ensure they flourished as best as they could. Plus, there were always the lows of journeys and sometimes people just needed to have a good rant, so the professor was always willing to lend an ear as his young protégés vented, somewhat shyly in the beginning but full out ranting when they realised he didn't mind too much. After all, he was kindly Professor Sycamore who took full responsibility for the trainers he considered his charges, often crossing paths with them and testing their skills in battle. Augustine was unusual when compared to his fellow professors, but no one denied his keen and brilliant mind. Just his somewhat limited attention span with his work. Whereas Professor Elm could sometimes be found sleeping on the floor, often having fallen asleep when wrapped up in his research, Professor Sycamore was occasionally found playing with the pokémon who lived at his lab and taking walks around town, which he had been scolded for on more than one occasion by a visiting Professor Rowan, who openly questioned his ability to pay attention to any of his research.

Not to say Augustine didn't enjoy his work; he did, well and truly. But he hated writing up the reports of his observations and studies. They were dull and took up a lot of time that could be used to make more observations. In fact, out of all of his work it was the part that he found most difficult as his brain just protested against the report. It was that fact that made him, and a fair few others, wonder how he made the rank of Regional Professor at such a young age, when a lot of the time he just procrastinated on his reports and spent much more time on actual research and spending time with pokémon than reporting any of his findings, unless they were ones that excited him massively. Such as his observations of the first discovered Fairy Types some years previously. That report was still one he much prided himself on, being the one he actually finished in one go, rather than dawdling along like most of his other works did. If something truly excited him, then reports were so much easier, but observations in research of that magnitude were few and far between.

* * *

Augustine sighed and looked at the clock. Nearly eleven o'clock. He shook his head, smiling in amusement. Tierno was always the one who called last and often was so busy working on his dance routines with his pokémon all day, he always called rather late. That report would have to wait until the following day to be finished. After Shauna got her early morning call out of the way. Then Trevor would call at about noon, seeing as he hadn't called in quite a while. Then Calem mid afternoon, followed closely by Serena and Tierno would call in the evening. That was the usual timing for their calls when they did report their progress to Augustine. He couldn't help but smile at the thought. He couldn't help but love those kids. For one odd reason or another, he was more attached to them than any other trainer he'd sent out before and wanted nothing more than to see them succeed... Almost like a father... Yawning and stretching, Augustine scratched his chin and headed off for bed, knowing he'd be woken by his phone buzzing like every morning.

"Lord, help me get up when Shauna stops calling me," Augustine murmured with a laugh.


End file.
